Steep Grinds and steels -basic questions.

J

jaxthedog

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Oct 11, 2014
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I'm a new maker. Starting to learn about blades/grinds.
I have some basic books. But none on grinds or steels yet.
Right now I'm planning to re profile / reshape some 25¢ garage sale kitchen knifes as practice.
I also got a few Russell green river blanks - that I may reprofile / change the grinds.
I will anneal them first and heat treat 1095 myself after re profiled. And send anything worth it out for heat treat.
I've been looking at the steeper angles of Japanese kitchen knives. 9 - 12 °. Usually on a 59-60 Rockwell hardness steel. I Want to try that. I'm Mostly interested in straight grinding not hollow etc.
more for kitchen knifes.

My questions -
Will a 1095 steel take that kind of grind ? 9-12° on each side.. Or even 16°. Just need sharpening more often . Right?
Will other common stainless steels 440c. Take that steep of a grind too ?
What about a common inexpensive damascus - 1075/15n20 ?
Or is higher hardness required ? like on Vg10 etc. ?

Thanks!
 
1095 takes steep angles very well, look at its traditional role in slip joint blades. Higher hardness will allow the edge to last longer though. I am not sure about 440c.
 
If you are just starting and doing your own HT without a full setup of HT gear, use 1084. You can't tell it from 1095 in the finished knife...well maybe you can. If your setup is minimal, the 1084 blade will probably end up better than the 1095 blade.

1095 isn't the best steel to start doing HT on if you have minimal equipment.

440C and the knife stainless steels all are good, because you will be sending these out for HT. I particularly like CPM-S35VN for low angle slicing blades. AEB-L is also great for these type blades. 440C is a workhorse, and will do for anything from basic kitchen knives to camp choppers.

Angles below 15° per side are more fragile and require better sharpening skills as well as proper use. The reason I like S35VN is because it is both tough as well as fine grained, so it makes a good stainless slicer. At Rc 60-61 and an edge around 12° per side it is a real good fillet or meat cutting blade steel.

For the ultimate in fine grained edges and low angles in a carbon steel, use the higher carbon steels like 52100, 1095, and my favorites - the Hitachi white and blue steels. All these can attain Rc 63-64 edges that hold up with proper use. HT and sharpening skills are obviously a bit more skilled than a basic beginner level.




Start with 1084 and a drop point hunter for a first knife.
 
I give the 440C a vote! Its inexpensive. Makes great culinary knives and others of all angles and has some large carbide chucks that will keep cutting long after the main edge is diminished. I still use it for some of my culinary & hunting knives along with CPM-154 and CPM-S35VN.

I will say that 440C will be a little easier to grind than CPM-S35VN. You can push 440C up to 60-61 RC no problem for Sashimi & Deba knives. I have mine done at 60.

Have fun and stay safe.
 
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